Curated Optogenetic Publication Database

Abstract: Domain insertion engineering is a powerful approach to juxtapose otherwise separate biological functions, resulting in proteins with new-to-nature activities. A prominent example are switchable protein variants, created by receptor domain insertion into effector proteins. Identifying suitable, allosteric sites for domain insertion, however, typically requires extensive screening and optimization. We present ProDomino, a machine learning pipeline to rationalize domain recombination, trained on a semisynthetic protein sequence dataset derived from naturally occurring intradomain insertion events. ProDomino robustly identifies domain insertion sites in proteins of biotechnological relevance, which we experimentally validated in Escherichia coli and human cells. Finally, we used light- and chemically regulated receptor domains as inserts and demonstrate the rapid, model-guided creation of potent, single-component opto- and chemogenetic protein switches. These include novel CRISPR-Cas9 and -Cas12a variants for inducible genome engineering in human cells. Our work enables one-shot domain insertion engineering and substantially accelerates the design of customized allosteric proteins.

Abstract: CRISPR-Cas technologies have revolutionized life sciences by enabling programmable genome editing across diverse organisms. Achieving dynamic and precise control over CRISPR-Cas activity with exogenous triggers, such as light or chemical ligands, remains an important need. Existing tools for CRISPR-Cas control are often limited to specific Cas orthologs or selected applications, restricting their versatility. Anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins are natural inhibitors of CRISPR-Cas systems and provide a flexible regulatory layer but are constitutively active in their native forms. In this study, we built on our previously reported concept for optogenetic CRISPR-Cas control with engineered, light-switchable anti-CRISPR proteins and expanded it from ortholog-specific Acrs towards AcrIIA5 and AcrVA1, broad-spectrum inhibitors of CRISPR-Cas9 and CRISPR-Cas12a, respectively. We then conceived and implemented a novel, chemogenetic anti-CRISPR platform based on engineered, circularly permuted ligand receptor domains, that together respond to six clinically relevant drugs. The resulting toolbox achieves both optogenetic and chemogenetic control of genome editing in human cells with a wide range of CRISPR-Cas effectors, including type II-A and II-C CRISPR-Cas9s, and CRISPR-Cas12a. In sum, this work establishes a versatile platform for the multidimensional control of CRISPR-Cas systems, with immediate applications in basic research and biotechnology, and with the potential for therapeutic use in the future.